• Oxford City Council and Oxfordshire County Council can help you with all issues relating to local government & services. (The County Council's Health and Social Care pages are particularly useful if you are looking for a support organisation locally.) There are Local Services Shops on St Aldates and in Blackbird Leys where you can pop in and ask the council questions about housing, council tax, benefits, etc. - details here.
• Daily Info's Volunteers page
  Find a volunteer to help with a specific task or offer help to others.

• Alcoholics Anonymous
• Local 01865 242373, national 08457 697555 – 24hr helpline.
• Al-Anon
• Support & understanding for friends & family of problem drinkers. Call their national helpline for times & locations of local meetings: 020 7403 0888
• Alzheimer's/Dementia: see SPECAL below
  
• Asian Women's Helpline
• Freephone 0800 0526077 or 01865 200861/01865 200863
• Benefits Advice
• Barton: 01865 744152, Underhill Circus, Oxford.
  Blackbird Leys: 01865 770206, 96, Blackbird Leys Road.
  Rose Hill & Donnington: 01865 438634, The Cabin, The Oval, Rose Hill.
  Claimants Union: 01865 723750, East Oxford Community Centre.
• British Red Cross – 01235 552660
• Oxfordshire Branch, Colwell Drive, Abingdon
  Open Monday - Friday 9:00 to 17:00
  Welfare, medical loans, advice, support, tracing relatives. Training in first aid, nursing skills, welfare skills and industrial skills. Hand crafts.
• Carers Centre – 01865 205192 / 01865 295176
• 174a, Cowley Road
  Free and confidential service to carers, with info, advice, support and advocacy.
• Childcare Information – 01865 854401
• Social services. Lists of registered childminders, creches and playgroups.
• Childline – 0800 1111
• 24hr free helpline for children and young people.
• Children's Play Development – 01865 252812
• Part of Oxford City Council. Holiday playschemes, afterschool clubs.
• Citizens Advice Bureau – 0870 220 0608
• 95 St Aldate's
  "Free advice and confidential information. Practical help with debt, benefits, employers, landlords etc." According to them (Mar 2006), they are usually open for drop-in advice 10:00-12:00 Mon, Wed, Fri & Sat, & 14:00-18:00 on Thu. There's an outreach advice session at the Asian Cultural Centre, Manzil Way, Tues 10:30-13:00. Phone advice is usually available weekdays 10:00-16:00.
• Community Health Council – 01865 723569
• 5th Floor, Seacourt Tower, West Way, Botley
  Independent body helping patients with complaints.
• Counselling
• See 'Isis Centre', below for NHS counselling. If you go to private practitioner, expect to pay £25 - £55 per hour. Get a personal recommendation if possible. Otherwise, BACP (British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy) lists their accredited practitioners, who are under obligation to practise ethically.
• Cruse - Bereavement Care – 01865 245398
• Wesley Memorial Hall, New In Hall Street
  Open Mon-Fri 10:00-14:00, Sat 10:00-12:00. Messages can be left on answerphone outside hours.
  Counselling, practical advice and help with all aspects of bereavement. Also social groups and activities.
• Families Need Fathers - Oxford Branch
• www.fnf.org.uk / 07986 378833 / 07813 050735
  Registered UK charity providing information and support to parents and grandparents, including unmarried parents, of either sex. Chiefly concerned with the problems of maintaining a child's relationship with both parents during and after family breakdown. Open meeting at the Rover Sports and Social Club, Roman Way, Cowley, from 19:30 on the first Wednesday of every month.
  
• 'Headspace' @ The Mill - see 'The Mill', below
  
• Health Information Service – 0800 665544
  
• Homelessness (Oxford City Council) – 01865 252673
• For people who are or who are about to be homeless.
• Humanist Funeral Services
• Oxford and surrounding areas. For more info see www.fionasloman.co.uk.
• Isis Counselling Centre – 01865 556648
• Dartington House, Little Clarendon Street (Monday-Friday, 9:00 to 17:30).
  Information, consultation and professional (NHS) counselling for anyone who is distressed by personal or emotional problems. No referral necessary, but you will need to make an appointment and there is a waiting list. Also holds lists of accredited counsellors/therapists etc in the area.
• K.E.E.N. (Kids Enjoy Exercise Now) – 01865 318131
• 13, Bevington Rd, OX2 6NB. keen@herald.ox.ac.uk, http://users.ox.ac.uk/~keen/.
  Organisers of numerous events to exhaust the little ones.
• Libra Project – 01865 723500
• 205 Cowley Road. Tues & Thurs: 10-1, 2-5. Weds: 2-5.
  Info & support for drug & alcohol abusers. HIV prevention & needle exchange.
• Luther Street Centre – 01865 726008
• Full GP service for homeless people and drug and alcohol users.
• Mediation Oxfordshire – 01865 776789
• Comprehensive dispute resolution for neighbours, young people, parents & schools, workplace & commercial, restorative justice, landlords & tenants. medox@btconnect.com
• Mental Health Resource Centre – 01865 728981
• 19, Paradise St.
  Drop-in centre for information and advice on mental health.
• 'Headspace' @ The Mill - 01865 721458
• 46, Cowley Rd, OX4 1HZ
  Mental health services centre (part of MIND, see below) offering a new drop-in service for stressed students from 14th October 2008.
  themill@oxfordshire-mind.org.uk / www.oxfordshire-mind.org.uk
• MIND – 01865 511702
• 125, Walton St.
  Information and advice on mental health. Mental Health Information Line: 01864 247788, open 9.30am – 4.30pm Mon-Fri, www.omhi.org.uk
• NHS Direct – 0845 46 47
• Nurse-led 24hr helpline.
• Nightline – 01865 270270
• 16 Wellington Square
  Lines open throughout the night during University terms: 8pm-8am.
  Confidential listening, support and information, for students by students.
• Night Shelter – 01865 250153.
• Luther Street. Emergency accommodation for the homeless.
• Terrence Higgins Trust – 01865 243389
• 43 Pembroke Street, OX1 1BP. info@thtoxfordshire.org.uk
  HIV-related information and help.
• Oxford Aunts – 01865 249784
• 2 George Street. www.oxfordaunts.co.uk
  Open Monday - Friday, 9:30 to 16:30
  Private company offering live-in housekeeping and personal care services to older people (from general care and support at home to more complex care requirements).
• Oxfordshire Befriending Network – 01865 791781
• East Oxford Community Centre, Princes Street, Oxford OX4 1DD. oxford@befriending.net
  Offers support and company to people with potentially life-threatening illness.
• Oxford Friend Lesbian and Gay Helpline – 01865 726893
• PO Box 137, East Oxford DO, Oxford OX4 1ZJ.
  Lines open 19:00 to 21:00 Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday
  You might also want to call the London Lesbian and Gay Switchboard (tel 0207 837 7324), which is open 24 hours a day.
• Oxford Sexual Abuse and Rape Crisis Centre (OSARCC) – 01865 726295, freephone 0800 783 6294 (does not show on BT bills)
• Free, confidential telephone support to female survivors of rape, sexual abuse, domestic violence and sexual harassment. Ring the helpline to speak to a trained female volunteer, or leave a message on their secure twenty-four answerphone. Alternatively, write to them at OSARCC, PO Box 20, St Aldates Post Office, Oxford OX4 1DY, or contact them via their website (click on title, above). The staffed helpline is open Mon and Thurs 6.30-9pm, Fri 11.30am-2pm and Sun 6-8.30pm.
• Oxfordshire Women's Aid – 01865 778400
• Staffed during office hours, otherwise answerphone with details.
• Racism Actionline – 01865 815121
• For those experiencing racial harassment.
• Relate: Oxfordshire Marriage Guidance
• Aylesbury (01296) 427973
  Banbury (01295) 258141
  Oxford 01865 242960 (33 Iffley Road)
• Restore – 01865 455820
• Manzil Way, off Cowley Road. Fax: 01865 241434
  Registered Charity offering creative work rehabilitation and training for people in Oxfordshire experiencing mental health problems. RESTORE's 'LEaP' project offers support for those who wish to become self-employed. Ring 01865 455825 or email leap@restore.org.uk for more info.
• RSPCA
• 24-hour cruelty line: 0870 5555 999
  General Enquiries: 0870 333 5999
• The Samaritans – 08457 909090 (Oxford branch 01865 722122)
• 123 Iffley Road
  Free, confidential service. Will listen to any problems. Call, write or phone.
• Social Services – 01865 375515 (out-of-hours emergencies: 0800 833408)
• Care and protection for adults and children.
• SPECAL (Specialized Early Care for Alzheimer's) - 01993 822129
• Independent dementia care charity with an innovative and highly practical approach, taking a positive view of what it is possible to achieve for a person with dementia and their family. Wide range of workshops, training courses and support services suitable for families requiring help and also for professionals working in the field of dementia care. SPECAL care enables people with dementia to enjoy a good quality of life throughout the rest of their life.
  Address: The Administrator, The SPECAL Centre, Sheep Street, Burford, Oxon, OX18 4LS. info@specalburford.co.uk
  Registered charity number 1088247
• Steppin' Stone Centre – 01865 728545
• 139, Magdalen Road. A day centre for homeless and vulnerably housed people.
  Open from 11am-2pm and from 5pm-8pm every day except Wednesdays.
• Thames Valley Police Domestic Violence Co-ordinators
• City: 01865 335165 (office hours)
  North/West: 01295 754625
  South/Vale: 01235 776000 (ask for D.V. unit)
• Tuberous Sclerosis Association – 0121 445 6970
• Contact Harriet Spencer, TS Specialist Adviser (London, Anglia and the South East), 226 Mare Street, London, E8 1HE. Tel/Fax: 0208 986 5499
  E-Mail: support@tuberous-sclerosis.org / website: www.tuberous-sclerosis.org
• Victim Support – 01865 751511

Click here for Jessica Rose's 'Dying at home: a few things the family should know'